With the spate of Free Agents seemingly passing us by/the perceived inactivity by Holland RE: preparing for Lidstrom's departure, does anyone see Babcock walking? I doubt he does as he's been a big part of shaping this team and working with them to create pretty much HIS system here. But he's got to be pissed now. As far as I know from mainly rumour surrounding forums such as this one, he doesn't like it much when he says he needs a piece or two and the management say we're all good so can you see this, or another such situation soon, as being the final push towards the door?

He is probably the premier head coach in the league and could walk into any other team, so maybe he does soon?

Just what I happened to think of when I heard the Weber news, because if I'm pissed that we've once again missed out on a guy that was supposed to be at the top of our list, imagine how he feels having to coach...

I think Babcock understands that Holland has tried to acquire Suter/Weber but with the Wings being a division rival, it likely was not going to happen. At least with Weber, anyway.

I'm still of the opinion that Holland will wait until after a new CBA is reached to make any more moves. Babcock is a professional and I don't think he'll walk just because of an unfortunate offseason. He's got to like the addition of Tootoo, I would imagine.

With the spate of Free Agents seemingly passing us by/the perceived inactivity by Holland RE: preparing for Lidstrom's departure, does anyone see Babcock walking? I doubt he does as he's been a big part of shaping this team and working with them to create pretty much HIS system here. But he's got to be pissed now. As far as I know from mainly rumour surrounding forums such as this one, he doesn't like it much when he says he needs a piece or two and the management say we're all good so can you see this, or another such situation soon, as being the final push towards the door?

He is probably the premier head coach in the league and could walk into any other team, so maybe he does soon?

Just what I happened to think of when I heard the Weber news, because if I'm pissed that we've once again missed out on a guy that was supposed to be at the top of our list, imagine how he feels having to coach...

I agree that it must frustrate Babs that certain needs aren't being met - however the reg season hasn't yet begun so technically speaking - there's time to fill a few holes - however the realist that I am I'm not expecting much.

To answer your question - I don't think Babs will walk...I'm certain he realises that in today's NHL acquiring players isn't as easy as some would think.

With the spate of Free Agents seemingly passing us by/the perceived inactivity by Holland RE: preparing for Lidstrom's departure, does anyone see Babcock walking? I doubt he does as he's been a big part of shaping this team and working with them to create pretty much HIS system here. But he's got to be pissed now. As far as I know from mainly rumour surrounding forums such as this one, he doesn't like it much when he says he needs a piece or two and the management say we're all good so can you see this, or another such situation soon, as being the final push towards the door?

He is probably the premier head coach in the league and could walk into any other team, so maybe he does soon?

Just what I happened to think of when I heard the Weber news, because if I'm pissed that we've once again missed out on a guy that was supposed to be at the top of our list, imagine how he feels having to coach...

Why would Babcock leave? Holland has given him or attempted to give him every single thing he asked for this offseason.

He wanted right handed shots, - he got 3 of them.He wanted depth for the bottom 6 - he has depth in abundance.he wanted to get bigger and faster. He got slightly bigger, but a ton faster

The only other thing he said they need was a winger for Pav, and the Wings are still waiting on both Doan and Semin.

Holland also attempted trades for Rick Nash (a favorite of Babcock's), and #1 defenceman in Yandle and Weber.

Babcock isn't some overreactive fan, he likely recognizes that you can't make everyone come to Detroit, or force teams to trade with you. I bet he's overly pleased with the effort Holland has put in to try and give him what he wants.

Agree with everything that's been said. To clarify what I guess I meant by the original question is that I don't think he throws his toys out the pram and leaves, but is it so far off the point to think he starts to assess his future when looking at the future of this team? I'm not sure when his contract is up but say he looks and it's at a point where nothing is happening here, do you think he'd renew it? Because obviously he's not just going to say he's had enough now. Really sorry, don't seem to put much coherent thought into posts these days

And to set the record straight, I'm no Holland basher and so not blaming him for any of the way things panned out. Just thinking that, as has been mentioned, if we continue to be a place that not many people want to deal with, is this team as much of a draw for Babs in the future?

The Wings always look like they're about to take a downturn but have found a way to develope people i their system (Such as Datsyuk). Holland has always had a way of filling holes through free agency to take those young players over the top. Nyquist and Smith both look like they're going to do well and Helm and Abdelkader are starting to come into their own. If Pav, Z and Franzen can bounce back from an off season and Fippula build on his output last year we will be fine for years to come. Adding some firepower especially from the blue line would be nice but barring rampant injuries the Wings will be fine this year.

Sorry but this thread sucks, doesn't he have 3 yrs left on his contract anyways.

That's fair enough, I thought it was a legitimate question considering some people seem to think we're not a team that most want to deal with/we don't have that much of a draw for players as we used to (this was asked in a topic a few weeks ago so in a way it could well be a knock on of that). As I've said I don't think he walks but then again I guess I'm only using the forum for what it's supposed to be for, posing questions and prompting debate rather than simply giving my point of view. So I'd have to say that I too am sorry, but your comment sucks. If you don't like the thread, don't comment. And as for his contract, look at my post before this one and see what I really meant.

Why would Babcock leave? Holland has given him or attempted to give him every single thing he asked for this offseason.

He wanted right handed shots, - he got 3 of them.He wanted depth for the bottom 6 - he has depth in abundance.he wanted to get bigger and faster. He got slightly bigger, but a ton faster

The only other thing he said they need was a winger for Pav, and the Wings are still waiting on both Doan and Semin.

Holland also attempted trades for Rick Nash (a favorite of Babcock's), and #1 defenceman in Yandle and Weber.

Babcock isn't some overreactive fan, he likely recognizes that you can't make everyone come to Detroit, or force teams to trade with you. I bet he's overly pleased with the effort Holland has put in to try and give him what he wants.

Also, Holland seemed pretty high on Brunner. And if Yandle comes here, he's #2 behind Kronwall. Weber would be #1, but Kronner is still more valuable than Yandle. He's been in mid to high 30's in pts since 2007 and had 51 pts a few years ago and has never really got playing time with Lids, so all of this is on the 2nd D pairing. There's a lot of potential this year and Babcock also really likes Smith and Nyquist so he's got some good young talent to work with.

Looking at my OP I can see how this seems shortsighted, and how it'll be taken as a doom-and-gloom fan thinking the sky is falling down, but it was never meant to be "Well, this team is a crapshoot and I bet Babcock walks and flips the bird as he does", it was purely meant as a question that will he resign here if we don't sign someone big over the next few years? I feel I need to clarify this as I agree with what's been said, I don't think he leaves. It's not just him though, extend it to ask will the other coaches decide to stay as they have more freedom when it comes to moving away?

I personally think we're still in a fairly healthy position and effectively the Weber situation gives us a better chance at the postseason with divisional ranking, just would have preferred him here. Like I said above, it's a question that popped into my head and I thought I'd ask. I've seen a lot of other coaches in sport leave for less - for those that watch soccer look at Jose Mourinho leaving Chelsea. Just a debate that's all. Was sort of hoping someone would at least say something on the other side to really kick the debate off but never really happened. Ah well.

Not only can he walk but also chew massive collective amounts of gum at the same time as we've plainly seen him do so on the bench the past few years. Apparently Big Red is his favorite; maybe because he has red hair. He thinks that if he chews Big Red then it makes him feel like he's a Big Red in his own world, which gives him some confidence to be the Big Red coach of the Big Red Wings.